United States Heading towards a Depression?

We have a trade imbalance of about $40-50Billion PER MONTH.
http://www.census.gov/indicator/www/ustrade.html

The USA is NOT the world's leading exporting nation, we are second to China. USA is the World's Leading Importing Nation and we import a lot more than we export.

 

Okay. I went to Politifact to check claims Republicans are making. I searched, "oil permits down by 15%."

Top 2 results:

1. Gas prices have doubled because "Obama opposed exploring for energy in Alaska. He gave millions of tax dollars to Solyndra, which then went bankrupt. And he blocked the Keystone pipeline. So we will all pay more at the pump."

Politifact rates the claim False.

2. Crossroads GPS ad says oil production on federal lands dropped under President Barack Obama.

Politifact rates the claim Half-True.

Nothing specifically about Obama's oil permits. So, I searched "Obama oil permits" and looked for "permit" in the title.

1. Mike Dovilla claims Obama's refusal to allow the Keystone Pipeline to proceed thwarted the ability to reduce gas prices.

Politifact rates the claim False.

2. President Obama's refusal to grant permits for offshore drilling is one reason gasoline prices are soaring.

Politifact rates the claim Pants on Fire!

 

Wow. Half-true. That says it all. Did you read the link? Obama moratorium has caused the 14% drop in federal permits. It says it in black and white. The only reason they gave it a half true is because they feel the ad went too far, as one might expect from the left leaning tamp bay times which cleverly declared itself the non-partisan arbitrator of political truth by grabbing the domain "politifact.com".

As to the pants on fire rating for the idea that a decline in drilling permits under Obama has an impact on gas prices, one has to laugh. If you think oil prices in the US are not effected by the laws of supply and demand, I have no idea what to say to that.

 

Yes, I did read it. In fact, right underneath the sentence you quoted was the summary (post 7943). Personally, I feel the intention of the Republican ad was to present a deceptive conclusion.

Partly because they took a one-year statistic when it was affected by the BP oil spill.

^ Bush had years with low oil production. For example, in 2006 it was low, affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. The article also indicates other factors. But, I suppose anyone can read it and come to their own conclusion.

You told me to Try Politifact. Stop making me read such sick leftist propaganda!

Anyway, have a good one...

 

I guess we each take what we will from what we read. For instance, when you point out Bush low oil production was due to Hurricane Katrina cleaning up a myriad of Oil platforms, I have a hard time blaming Bush for that. When The gulf oil spill killed the Deepwater Horizon, I have a hard time blaming Obama for that.

When Obama puts a year long moratorium on offshore drilling, I'm hard pressed to figure out how I blame anyone BUT Obama for that.

When Obama single handedly kills the Keystone Pipeline deal, I'm hard pressed to figure out how I blame anyone BUT Obama for that.

When Obama's energy secretary spoke openly of the need for European style gas prices to drive alternate energy, I believe him.

When Bill Clinton says Obama is stalling drilling permits, I believe him.

Obama, true to his double speak nature, immediately blames gas prices on free markets, and sicks his pitbulls at the DOJ to investigate. What an ass.

IMO, getting intelligent people to read and watch left wing propaganda is a great way to turn them into conservatives ;D

 

I do not believe this.

 

I think it was six months, and because of the BP oil spill.

Obama suggests it's the Republicans at fault.

He totally backed down on that. lol. But he made the statement back in 2008, before Obama was even President.

Slick Willy.

Here he's blaming...

I think it's a difficult time with lots of propaganda from left and right.

Anyway, have a good one.

 

6 months, after extreme pressure, he prematurely lifted his absurd moratorium which caused the decline I have been saying we experienced in offshore drilling. Are you arguing my point?

By Obama's logic, I keep wondering why, when Toyota's had that acceleration problem, Obama didn't suspend auto manufacturing for a year. It makes just about as much sense.

Of course. Blaming others is all he knows how to do. Apparently he's never heard of the concept where the buck stops with leadership.

2008..... before Obama was President? Isn't 2008 the year Obama ran for president? And then promptly appointed the guy who had just said, "We need high European gas prices to spur green energy" as his energy secretary? If anything, I'd say that is a ringing endorsement by Obama of Chiu's thinking. Of course he has now backed away from the statement, because it is election year, but it is very difficult to put words back in your mouth.

Strange how many people from both sides of the isle think of Bubba as more of a centerist, as well as an intelligent and likable guy. When Bubba calls you out for being a left wing lunatic, you are probably a left wing lunatic.

Any good lie needs to have a smidgen of truth to it. Those are definitely contributing factors to high gas prices. So are his hostile, anti-domestic energy policies. When I said he is blaming, I was referring to the use of his pitbulls at the DOJ to open an investigation into oil speculators.

Underneath all that propaganda are actual facts. Easily researched facts. Facts, and common sense are the only tools most of us have to get by in our daily lives, so given the increasing ease with which any of this stuff can be researched, I see our time being easier, not more difficult.

 

Since lack of oil isn't the reason gas prices are high, Obama's moratorium has nothing to do with the prices. Oil companies are closing older, inefficient fractionating plants. The lack isn't oil, it's plants in which to produce fractions (gas, heating oil, etc.)

BTW, Alaska oil was slated for export, so it wouldn't have had any effect on US prices.

As far as outsourcing and importing, anyone old enough to remember the end of WWII will remember the "Made in Occupied Japan" labels on almost everything. It's not a new phenomenon, it's at least 65 years old - have it made where working conditions are slave-like and wages are pennies, then import it. People don't want quality, they don't want "made here", they want cheap. Even the auto workers in Detroit who want you to buy US-made cars (don't get me started on the fact that Chevys are made in Canada and Toyotas are made in the US) buy Chinese-made electronics. They want you to support their jobs, but they don't want to spend more money to support your job.

 

i don't think so, let's all hope and pray for a better america.

 

Praying won't do anything - we have to vote for someone who isn't owned by the multinationals, like a certain ex-governor.

 

How very non-scientific. If you want to sell an idea that flies in the face of the very basic concepts of market economics, you are going to have to try harder than that. While you are at it, perhaps you can describe the effect the oil glut had on gas prices. I won't bother holding my breath while you work on that, or while you try and substantiate your ridiculous "owned by multinationals" statement. After Solyndra, I think most American's would be happy with someone who isn't owned by their campaign contributors.

 

You had said it was a one-year moratorium. I was just pointing out that it was actually six months, and because of the BP oil spill. It looks like from the get-go it was planned to be six months. Here's a press release on the U.S. Department of the Interior when it was announced. I'm not 100% sure where you're going with this. Are you saying that the moratorium increased gas prices to what they are? I'm not sure if you think FactCheck is credible, but they think if it did at all, it would only have been by one to two cents. If anyone is interested - FactCheck Anyway, just for the record, I don't think that I take issue with the moratorium. The BP oil spill was a horrible mess.

I'm not one of his fans. I don't know. Maybe it was the perjury and obstruction of justice. Or, just that they call him Slick Willy. He kind of reminds me of the stereotype I have in my mind for a used car salesman.

True.

I just meant it takes time to research every statement. Anyway, have a good one...Again! Nice talking to you. I'm off to work on my site.

 

Sadly FactCheck's opinion is exactly that. They confirmed Obama's moratorium did cause a 14% decline in off shore oil drilling. I won't go so far as FactCheck/Tampa Bay Times and make an idiotic claim about an exact dollars and cents figure that the moratorium had on the price of gas. Common sense dictates that, if you produce less of something while demand increases, the price will rise. 2 cents? Perhaps, but unlikely. The closer demand comes to outpacing supply at the margin, the more dramatic price swing you are going to see. Mind you, this is one data point among many that say the same thing about Obama's oil policies.

Hehe. You are sounding like Newt Gingrich of the late 1990s. I'll admit, I didn't like the fact he lied to the american people. It was the lowest point in his presidency after the first two years when he thought the country wanted a leftist agenda. He still got things done in a bi-partisan way, and that is a lot more than what we can say about Obama. Hell, the guy slashed welfare to balance the budget. Whats not to like.

I'll grant you that. IMO, you don't have to research them all. You really only have to research a few to get a understanding of how comfortable a candidate is with completely distorting the truth and, in some cases, just flat out lying.

You too . Good luck with your site.

 

How very non-realistic. Reality isn't science, it's just reality, and the reality is that Hess has closed one refinery and Sun was set to close another one - in the face of not enough refinery capacity.

"Flies in the face of"? Reducing the supply when it's already short of demand increases the price. If you don't understand that very basic fact of economics, you shouldn't be handling money.

We don't burn oil in our cars, we burn gas. If there's not enough refinery capacity, all that oil could be snow for all the good it does for gas prices. Why do you think heating oil goes up in the winter and gas goes up in the summer? They both come from the same oil, so it's not the amount of oil available to refine that makes the prices go up and down.

 

/scratches head. Here i thought that was exactly the point I was making in response to your claim that reduced oil supply a'la Obama has no impact on gas prices.

To be fair, my wife doesn't leave me enough to handle.

And still, with no oil, there is no gas. You are aware of this, right?

And you had planned on providing some evidence to back this claim, right? After all, it is the premise of your argument. Too bad your claim flies in the face of the FACT we are exporting gas for the first time in a long time as demand for oil and gas in the US has run stagnant.

As it turns out, no matter how much we conserve, no matter how many foreign made Toyota Prius's or Government Motors taxpayer dollar built Chevy Volt's we buy, the demand for oil and gas in the rest of the world continues to climb, and unless we keep pace, the price skyrockets for the 90% of us who still drive a normal car. If only we had kept pace with domestic oil production, driving lower fuel costs and a stronger gas export economy. Thanks Obama.

 

Let's see. He eliminates Alaskan oil - which would have gone from Alaska to other countries. So that would have nothing to do with our supply, so it would have nothing to do with our prices.

Sure, right. With no dinosaurs there would be no gas too. But the problem isn't lack of dinosaurs OR lack of oil, it's lack of refinery capacity! And by closing refineries (which the industry has been doing for a while), the oil industry is manufacturing a gas shortage to keep the prices high. Artificially high.(Notice that Obama has nothing to do with this decision by the oil companies.)

The claim that lack of refinery capacity leads to higher prices? Read any basic economics book for the evidence.

You will, of course, back up your claim that the lack of demand in the US is the CAUSE of our exporting gas, right? (It's not, but have fun waving your hands.)

Unfortunately, the gas you put into your car hasn't come from US-pumped oil in many decades - and that has nothing to do with Obama.

 

So after being busted with the false and unsupported claim that the US has a shortage of refining capacity, you are now claiming Alaska exports it's oil? Should I hold my breath waiting for you to substantiate this claim, or should I just debunk it now.

Just by way of asking, even if Alaska were to export 100% of it's oil, do you really think decreased oil production in Alaska would have no effect on oil prices in the US? I suppose next you'll be telling me that decreased oil from Iran has no effect on US oil prices, even though Iran exports most of it's oil to Europe. These are pretty basic concepts, so I'm not sure where to point you on this one.

I wasn't aware Obama controlled permits for Dinosaur production. Where are you getting your information from?

Amazing. How many posts are we into this little discussion and you have yet to produce a single link in support of any of your claims, where as I provided a specific and credible link to debunk this specific claim in my last post. I recommend you either take up reading or heavy drinking. Either one should help with the voices.

Nice straw man. No, the claim you were supposed to substantiate was the one where you said we have a shortage of refining capacity. The claim in your quote above i never made.

Again, never made that claim, so another nice straw man. In fact, I made no claims at all as to the cause of our gas export. I simply used the existence of exported gas as evidence to disprove your claim of lack of refining capacity. If really you want to know why the US exports gas to more profitable markets abroad, perhaps you should go back and actually read those basic economics books you were talking about.

Another unsubstantiated idiotic claim? Whats the point? What does it have to do with the impact of US oil production on gas prices? FYI, I live in California, so there is a reasonable chance the gas in my car does in fact come from US oil, though entirely in spite of the efforts of the liberal idiots here.

 

[h=1]Watch the video at the top of the article: The future is brighter than you think[/h]The presenter in the video is Peter Diamandis. He explains how our views can sometimes become distorted by the negative focus in the news. He says we have the potential within the next three decades to create a world of abundance. Whether you believe that, it's still an interesting video to watch...

 

I'm much more optimistic about another four years of Obama after reading the life of Julia advertising his campaign is putting out.... have you seen it?





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